Lady Naomi Anna Gordon-Lennox (born March 1962), known as Nimmy March, is an English actress.
Lady Naomi Gordon-Lennox | |
---|---|
Born | March 1962 Kingston upon Thames, England | (age 62)
Other names | Nimmy March |
Occupation | Actress |
Spouse | Gavin Burke (m. 1999; div.) |
Children | 3 |
Parent(s) | By adoption: Charles Gordon-Lennox, 10th Duke of Richmond Susan Grenville-Grey |
Background
editMarch's biological parents were a black South African father from Lesotho and a white English mother.[1] As an illegitimate child,[2] she was abandoned by her birth mother.
She was adopted by the Earl and Countess of March and Kinrara, who later became the Duke and Duchess of Richmond. Because of her race, at the time the adoption caused a stir within the peerage and the future Duke and Duchess were vilified by some for "sullying the aristocracy", as March herself described it.[3][4]
She went to Bedales, an exclusive Hampshire school, before going on to drama school.
Career
editMarch's television screen credits include Coronation Street, Albion Market, Common As Muck, Goodnight Sweetheart, Casualty, William and Mary, Doctors, Strictly Confidential, The Bill, London's Burning, Waking the Dead, Death in Paradise, Agatha Raisin, Desmond's and Emmerdale.
She narrated the 2008 TV serial Last Voices of World War 1 on the History Channel, along with the BBC1 documentary The War On Loan Sharks.
Personal life
editUntil 2004, children who were adopted by peers had no right to any noble or courtesy title. However, as a result of a Royal Warrant dated 30 April 2004, all children are now automatically entitled to the same styles and courtesy titles.[5] Therefore, on that date, she became Lady Naomi Burke.
She married Gavin Burke in 1999, but they subsequently divorced. They have three children: Khaya (born 1999), Malachy (born 2001), and Carlotta (born 2005).[6]
She has four siblings, including a sister who is also mixed-race.[2] She is Buddhist and bisexual.[7][8]
References
edit- ^ ""March, Naomi (Nimmy)", Adoption.com". Archived from the original on 27 January 2007. Retrieved 25 February 2007.
- ^ a b "March to the top". Evening Standard. 3 April 2003. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
- ^ "Adoption: 'How can you give away your baby?'". The Daily Telegraph. 2 March 2008.
- ^ "1965-2011". Mixed Britannia. Episode 3. 20 October 2011. BBC Two.
- ^ "Forms of address: Courtesy Titles". Debrett's. 24 June 2021.
- ^ "Relative Values: The Duke of Richmond and Nimmy March", The Sunday Times, 9 January 2005.
- ^ "UK Black Pride". 4 June 2017. Archived from the original on 5 July 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
- ^ The Times
External links
edit- Nimmy March at IMDb
- About Naomi "Nimmy" March, page re famous adoptions
- "Relative Values: The Duke of Richmond and Nimmy March" - Webpage of Times Online